Review: Al Volo, Rufforth Airfield East, Wetherby Road

IF you were a fan of the Sardinian restaurant Sapori in York's Shambles then set your compass due west.

Because the team behind Sapori have taken flight to a new base - Al Volo - in a converted hanger at Rufforth airfield just outside York.

Chef Francesco Pischedda is heading up the kitchen while his partner Denise Carta runs front of house with her sister Naomi and colleague Alex.

Naomi's boyfriend is in charge of the bar. It's very much a family affair which translates into a very warm welcome with lots of smiles.

Our 'ticket' came in the shape of an invitation from Francesco to try out the evening menu.

It's a short journey to reach the new base - just a 15 minute drive from York city centre on a Saturday evening. One warning, our Sat Nav directed us off the road one left turn too early. The entrance you want is the main one for Rufforth tennis club; a rough road leads you past the tennis courts and on to the hanger.

It was pitch black and hard to see where we were going. But take my word for it, if you keep going you will come across an industrial/farm building with a car park outside.

Inside, you will still be wondering: am I really in the right place? But bear with - take the stairs (there is a lift too) and a door opens into a cosy and stylish Italian restaurant; filled with smart brown leather chairs and banquettes and full of the aromas of the Med.

We tried the Sardinian house white wine (very nice) as we looked at the menu. I immediately liked that the menu was spread over just two pages. You can easily be over-faced by too much choice. This was just perfect: ten starters from focaccia and garlic bread to Caprese salad and slow-cooked octopus; a choice of home-made raviolis and pastas, three risottos, as well as a fish of the day, prawns, steak, pork and and chicken options.

Despite the apparent brevity, we still took a while debating which dishes to choose. In the end, we picked the Parmigiana Scomposta Di Melanzane (£9.95), an aubergine bake, and the meatball dish, Polpette Fritte, (£8.95) - both on Denise's recommendations.

Aubergine bake at Al Volo

We weren't disappointed. The aubergine dish came on a sliver of thin, crisp, Sardinian cracker, and was a gorgeous gooey mix of layers of the vegetable with melted mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, and sweet tomato sauce. The meatballs were winners too: rounds of pork and meat gently finished off in the frying pan to give them a light but crispy edge. They came with a creamy and sharp Hollandaise and parsley sauce which was a surprising addition, but worked a treat.

For our main courses, we were won over by the sound of the 'artisan made filled ravioli' on the menu. We chose two of the 'signature dishes'; my partner picked the Tortelloni Due Colori (£18.95), coloured with purple beetroot and green spinach and filled with courgettes and prawns, while I went for the more expensive but intriguing sounding Sardinian Black Ravioli (£21.95), where the pasta is blackened by charcoal and filled with scallops, cod and chives.

Watch - our video tour inside AL Volo at Rufforth

Food needs to look good to tempt us, and these dishes easily passed this first hurdle. The tortelloni looked incredible on the plate: six pieces of pasta parcels, raspberry red on one side, green on the other, covered in lashings of yellow-creamy Hollandaise sauce with a scattering of prawns both with and without shells. It tasted as good as it looked; the pasta perfectly cooked so it easily gave way to the creamy blended mixture inside. The prawns added an extra dimension of flavour and texture.

A winner - tortelloni at Al Volo

The black ravioli looked even more inviting: six snake-like shells of pasta laid on top of a trio of red, white and green sauces to replicate the flag of Italy. Unfortunately, the pasta was thick and too 'al dente' for my liking and the main flavour of the filling was potato.

We passed this feedback to the staff who said they would be taking up the quality with their local suppliers. I had been the third customer that night to comment on the disappointing quality of the black ravioli.

Alongside, we enjoyed a salad of beetroot, tomato and red onion - which was faultless.

Desserts amounted to a fabulous home-made tiramisu (£7.95) flavoured with Bailey's and a brioche bun filled with Italian ice-cream (£5.95). The ice-cream, or gelato, is made by Elisa Peterle, who is now heading up Paradiso Dolce Salato, the new Sardinian cafe in Walmgate, York. Her pistachio gelato is worth the trip to Rufforth - soft and creamy and full of the real flavour of the nut. Incredible.

We finished with coffee and a teeny taste of Al Volo's limencello cream (I was driving). This is quite something, and if you like Bailey's then I recommend you give this a try. The tartness of the limoncello is mellowed by the addition of the cream and I would loved to have enjoyed a full measure.

The restaurant was almost full during our visit and given that it just opened three months ago is already pulling in regular customers from the surrounding villages.

It is open for breakfast and lunch too - and a daytime visit would allow you to look over the airfield and surrounding countryside. Not to mention see where you are going on the drive towards the restaurant.

It is open from Tuesday to Sunday and several music nights are planned over the weeks to come.

To find out more, visit: www.alvolorufforth.co.uk or telephone 0749 656 1402.

Al Volo

Rufforth Airfield East,

Wetherby Road,

Rufforth, YO23 3QA